http://www.crossroadstofreedom.org

Hosted by Rhodes College, the purpose of the Crossroads to Freedom site is to promote and support conversations about the civil rights era in Memphis focusing on the years 1950 to 1970. The site has some very fine oral histories, newspaper articles from the Memphis World, and the transcripts of the 1962 Hearings of the Commission on Civil Rights. Visitors can dive right in by clicking on the "Collections" tab. Here they will find all of the available oral history interview videos from the project, along with a special set of interviews related to the importance of musicians in the struggle for civil rights. Also, users can use the "Browse" tab to look over the documents here by date, name, place, and subject. [KMG]

http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/chinese-canadians/index-e.html

This bilingual website offered by the Library and Archives of Canada (LAC) explores Canada's early Chinese immigrants, covering the period 1858 to 1947. To learn why the Chinese immigrated to Canada, visitors should click on "The History" on the far left side of the page. Once there, visitors can choose from several specific sections to read about, including "Working in B.C.: Gold, Railway, Mining and Salmon", "Racism and Law in Society", and "Communities for Canada and China". Additionally, each contains suggestions for further reading on the subject for both adults and children. Visitors who desire to browse photos and documents can click on "Historical Photographs and Documents" on the far left side of the page. There are three sections, "Research Guide", "Gallery of Documents", and "Gallery of Photographs". The Research Guide provides a thorough explanation on how to research the "photographs, artwork, published books, personal archives, and, in particular, government records" of Chinese Canadians, which are dispersed throughout the LAC collection. The documents and photographs galleries allow visitors to view, and even order, a print or digital copy of the historic materials. Finally, the "Head Tax Records" link located on the far left side of the page, allows visitors to search for Chinese immigrants to Canada that were recorded in the General Registers of Chinese Immigration. Visitors can search these registers online by the person's name, arrival year, or certificate number. [KMG]

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nukevault/ebb270/index.htm

The National Security Archive at The George Washington University is always on the lookout for new and compelling government documents, and this latest addition to their Nuclear Vault is quite an astonishing find. This collection of documents was compiled by researcher Jeffrey T. Richelson and released in late January 2009. Richelson came across these compelling documents while doing research for a book on the United States' Nuclear Emergency Search Team (NEST) and its activities. This particular collection contains 22 documents related to NEST's activities during the period 1998 to 2009. The documents cover the various operations NEST has been involved in, along with information about their relationship and interactions with over government agencies. It's an engaging clutch of materials, and one that will be fascinating for anyone with an interest in national security. [KMG]

http://www.adb.org/

Created in 1966, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is headquartered in Manila. Their operations extend across 67 countries, and their primary mission is "to help its developing member countries reduce poverty and improve the quality of life of their people." In order to achieve this goal, ADB offers loans, technical assistance, grants, advice, and knowledge. Along the top of their homepage, visitors can make their way through the following sections: "Projects", "Countries", "News & Events", "Topics", and "Publications". The "Topics" area is a good place to start, as it contains information about some of their signature programs, which range from work on preventing bird flu outbreaks to law and policy reform throughout the region. Moving on, the "Publications" area is a real treat for policy types, and visitors can look at recent documents like "Revitalization of Historic Inner-City Areas in Asia". [KMG]

http://afghanistan-analyst.org/default.aspx

Finding high-quality online resources about Afghanistan can be a struggle, and that's why it's refreshing to learn about the Afghanistan Analyst site. Created and maintained by Christian Bleuer, a PhD student at The Australian National University, the site contains collections of links and resources arranged into headings such as "Listservs", "Blogs", "Experts and Researchers", "Libraries", and a dozen others. Clicking on each heading will take users to a list of external web-based resources, all of which have been vetted by Bleuer. Many of the resources come from international sites, and Bleuer has noted when a certain site might contain information in another language, such as French or Arabic. The site will be particularly useful to scholars and journalists, and for anyone who hopes to keep up on current affairs in Afghanistan. [KMG]

http://www.scholastic.com/dreamincolor/africanamericanheritage/index.htm

Working together with a host of non-profit organizations (including the National Museum of Mexican Art), the Target Corporation and Scholastic Books have created this set of educational materials that help young people learn to "embrace and celebrate diversity." On this site, visitors can click around sections that include "Digital Storytelling", "Latino Heritage", and "Asian Pacific Heritage". In the "Digital Storytelling" area, teachers and students can use the instructional resources and lesson plans as they learn how to create a multimedia video clip and conduct research using a variety of sources. The other sections feature activities arranged by grade level and subject material. Also, visitors can look at lesson plans from past years and also offer feedback on the lesson plans and activities. [KMG]

http://nationalacademies.org/evolution/index.html

In 1859, Charles Darwin published "On the Origin of Species", and in doing so, he introduced the concept of evolution by natural selection to the world. To honor the 150th anniversary of this event, the National Academies recently redesigned their evolution resources website. In doing so, they created a number of new sections for educators, businesspeople, and attorneys. The "Introduction" area is a fine place to start, and here visitors can find brief summaries of evolution in agriculture, industry, and medicine. The "Definitions" area offers up some short and incisive definitions of relevant evolutionary terms including "adaptation", "DNA", and "trait". Students and teachers alike will want to peruse the "Books and Reports" area. Here they will find full-text reports such as "Science, Evolution, and Creationism" and "Genesis: The Scientific Quest for Life's Origins". The site is rounded out by a list of upcoming events. [KMG]

http://charlesolson.uconn.edu/Works_in_the_Collection/Melville_Project/index.htm

Noted poet and literary theorist Charles Olson began investigating the life and work of Herman Melville during his time as a graduate student at Wesleyan University in the 1930s. Olson began to realize then that there were hundreds of Melville's former books scattered around the country. He began to locate these books and transcribe information about each volume (including Melville's original marginalia) onto 5 x 7-inch note cards. Unfortunately, many of the note cards were damaged years later, but the University of Connecticut later purchased Olson's papers and set to work on repairing and conserving the cards. This most welcome digital collection is part of their work, and visitors with a penchant for Melville will want to browse through the hundreds of cards offered here. Each note card features a text transcription, a pdf of each card, and a zoom feature. Visitors can also manipulate the image to look at different segments, and they may also wish to perform a full-text search across all of the transcriptions. [KMG]